Knife-clamp.



1 WT/VESSESI A. BATES.

KNIFE CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1910.

1,1 17,628, Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ARTHUR BATES, OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

KNIFE-CLAMP.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR Barns, a subject of the King of England, residing at Leicester, in the county of Leicester, England, have invented certain Improvements in Tool-Holders, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

The present invention relates to means for securing tools such as knives, forms, dies or the like in position in machines that are used in the manufacture of boots and shoes and is herein shown and described as relating particularly to means for securing knives in machines for breasting heels.

Heel breasting knives are usually required to have curved or gouge-shaped cutting portions and the curve of the cutting portion varies with the nature of the work and for special work such as anatomic or orthopedic heels a double or ogee curvature of the blade is required. It has heretofore been the practice to form these heel breasting knives with fiat shank portions in order that knives having differently shaped blades could be secured in one construction of holder. To form the shanks of these knives differently from the blades has involved additional expense and increased the number of knives that are distorted or otherwise spoiled in the shaping and tempering processes.

It is the object of this invention to provide a tool holder or clamp which will be well adapted to hold any knife whether fiat or curved and which also may be used to hold flexible knives which are bent to the required curvature by pressure of the clamp. By this invention the expense of forming curved knives with fiat shanks is thus eliminated. This holder may also be of general utility for holding other tools or articles besides heel breasting or similar knives.

To this end a valuable feature of the invention consists in providing movable contact pieces, hearings or abutments in a back plate against which the tool is clamped, the said abutments occupying preferably only a. small portion of the face of the back plate and extending longitudinally of the knife.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 19, 1910.

Patented Nov. 17, 1914. Serial No. 582,703.

lieferably the abutments are segmental or semi-cylindrical in shape and are arranged for rotative movement about their longitudinal axes so that their clamping faces will automatically adjust themselves to assume firm bearing contact with the rear face of the tool. The faces of the abutments which are next the tool may with advantage be curved or hollowed so that they bear against the tool only along their edge portions.

As another feature of the invention, means is provided which cooperates with the abutments to hold the tool and may comprise a cooperating clamping member which has projections arranged opposite to the abutments, and preferably opposite to the grooves in abutments that are provided with edge bearings, whereby a very firm clamping action between the clamping member and the abutments is secured. The clamping member may, within the invention, be in the form of a plate and may be variously contoured or may be curved to correspond to the curvature desired for a flexible knife, the knife being bent to that curvature by the pressure applied to it by forcing the contoured plate toward the abutments. Suitable means is provided for effecting relative movement of the abutments and the plate for producing the requisite clamping pressure for holding the knife.

Although the invention is shown as applied to a heel-breasting machine it is to be understood that it is not limited to that class of machine for it might equally well be used in connection with other machines where the tools are required to be of varying curvature of shape, as for instance in folding machines where a flexible folding form is used.

The preferred construction of the invention will now be described as embodied in the machine described in my application for Letters Patent of the United States Serial No. 570,770, filed July 7, 1910, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the construction and arrangement shown as it is obvious that variations might be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a heel breasting machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the device showing the rotatable abutments or bearings for the knife, and Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views showing modified forms of clamping plate.

The knife 1 is clamped in the knife-holding arm 2 by means of a clamping plate 4 and two bolts 5. the arm 2 are the semi-cylindrical rotatable bearing blocks or abutments 7 which are held in place by flanges at either end which engage the arm 2. The abutments are each provided with two bearing edges which form two lines or surfaces of contact with the knife, one on either side of the axis about which the abutment turns. Thus they can readily adjust themselves to variations in the shapes of the backs of the knives or tools. Screws 8 are provided to take the thrust of the knife and to provide an ad justment for it in the direction of its length, that is in the direction in which it is moved to cut the heel. Lock nuts 10 are also pro vided. Thus it willbe seen that the holder is adapted to take knives of greatly varying curvature and automatically to adjust itself so as to hold them firmly.

The clamping plate 4 is preferably provided with two projections 6 which are in this construction so placed that each is approximately opposite to the middle point between the two lines of contact of an abutment. This construction is such that the knife will be gripped very firmly between these projections and the edges of the rotatable abutments.

It is obvious that a flexible knife could be used and that it could be curved to different shapes by altering the position of the contact points of the clamping members. Thus if the clamping plate were given the curvature required by the knife the abutments would, by opposing the pressure of the clamping plate, make the flexible knife conform to the shape of the plate and by the use of different clamping plates a single knife could be used for a variety of shapes. In Figs. 8 and 4 are shown examples of such clamping plates.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:-

1. In a machine of the class described, a clamping device for tools, comprising a plurality of movable abutments for one face of the tool, a cooperating clamping member for the opposite face of the tool, the said abutments being constructed and arranged automatically to adjust themselves into bearing relation with the surface of the tool in response to pressure of the cooperating Mounted in recesses in clamping member, and means for effecting relative movement of the abutments and the member to produce said pressure.

2. In a machine of the class described, a knife carrying head having recesses, members 7 seated in the recesses and against which the knife is to rest, a plate 4 having projections 6 bearing against the knife, and bolts 5 for clamping the plate 4 against the members 7.

3. In a machine of the class described, a tool carrying head, bearings rotatably sea"- ed in said head and extending longitudinally of the tool, means for securing the bearings against longitudinal displacement, and a clamping plate cooperating with said bearings to hold a knife therebetween.

4. A clamp for a curved knife comprising a member rotatably mounted and having bearing surfaces for one side of the knife which aredisposed perpendicularly to the knife edge and spaced apart laterally thereof, means engaging the opposite side of the knife at points offset from the said bearing surfaces, and means for clamping the knife between the bearing surfaces and the engaging means. 5. A clamp for a breasting knife comprising a plate, members associated therewith having laterally displaced, reciprocally movable, longitudinally extending bearing surfaces for one side of the knife, projection engaging the opposite side thereof, and means for pressing the projections and the bearing surfaces together to engage a knife therebetween. v

6. In a clamp for a curved knife, a back plate, a rotatable member seated in-the back plate and provided with bearing surfaces for engaging the convex side of the knife, a

bers rotatably seated therein and having bearing surfaces, at front plate provided with projections adapted to engagea tool between said bearing surfaces and said projections, said projections being adapted to bearat points o'dset from the bearing surfaces, and means to clamp said plates ztQ- i gether.

9. In a clamp for a breastingknife, a back I p ate, a plurality of-rotatable members provided with bearing surfaces, a front plate provided with projections adapted to engage a tool between said bearing surfaces and said projections, said projections being adapted to bear at points offset from the bearing surfaces, and means to clamp said plates together.

10. In a clamp for a breasting knife, a back plate, a plurality of members provided with flanges and reciprocally movable, longitudinally extending bearing surfaces, a front plate provided with projections adapted to engage a tool between said bearing surfaces and said projections, said projections being adapted to bear at points offset from the bearing surfaces, and means to clamp said plates together.

11. In a clamp for a breasting knife, a back plate, a plurality of rotatable members seated in said back plate and provided with bearing surfaces, a front plate provided with projections adapted to engage a tool between said bearing surfaces and said projections, means to clamp said plates together, and means connected with one of the plates for adjusting the tool longitudinally.

12. In a clamp for a breasting knife, a back plate, a plurality of semi-cylindrical, hollow, rotatable members provided with flanges and with laterally displaced, recip rocally movable, longitudinally extending bearing surfaces, a front plate provided with projections adapted to engage the knife between said bearing surfaces, said projections being adapted to bear at points offset from the bearing surfaces, and means to clamp said plates together.

13. In a clamp for a breasting knife, a back plate, a plurality of semi-cylindrical, hollow, rotatable members provided with flanges and laterally displaced, reciprocally movable, longitudinally extending bearing surfaces, a front plate provided with projections adapted to engage the knife between said bearing surfaces and said projections, said projections being adapted to bear at points offset from the bearing surfaces, means to clamp said plates together, and means connected with one of the plates for adjusting the tool longitudinally.

14;. A knife holder comprising a back plate having two approximately semi-cylindrical bearing blocks each mounted for movement on its axis of curvature and having separate knife engaging surfaces at its opposite edges, a front plate having two knifeengaging projections each located substantially midway between the edges of the opposed bearing blocks, and means for se curing the front plate to the back plate.

15. A. knife holder comprising a back plate having two approximately semi-cylindrical bearing blocks each mounted for movement on its axis of curvature and each having separate knife engaging surfaces at its opposite edges, a cooperating plate having a knife engaging face opposed to said movable semi-cylindrical blocks and between which and the blocks a knife may be held,

and means to clamp the cooperating plate to the back plate.

16. In a machine of the class described, a reciprocating tool carrying head, bearings rotatably seated in said head and extending in the direction of movement of the head, means for securing the bearings against longitudinal displacement, a clamping plate, means on said clamping plate adapted to engage the tool at points opposite to and within the area embraced by said bearings, and means for pressing said plate and said head toward each other.

17. In a machine of the class described having interchangeable tools, a tool clamp comprising a plurality of separated abutments arranged to turn on different approximately parallel axes, each being provided with clamping surfaces located on opposite sides of its axis and adapted to be turned by pressure of the tool against it, and a clamping plate adapted to cooperate with said surfaces to hold a tool.

18. A knife holder comprising a back plate having two approximately semi-cylindrical bearing blocks each mounted for movement on its axis of curvature and having separate knife engaging surfaces at opposite edges and a front plate adapted to bear against the knife, and means for securing the front plate to the back plate.

19. In a heel breasting machine a knife holder having rotatable abutments with their axes arranged perpendicular to the knife edge and adapted to be engaged by the face of said knife.

20. In a clamp for a heel breasting knife a back plate, means movable in said back plate against which the knife abuts, a front plate, projections on the front plate engaging the knife at points offset from the points of contact of said movable means with the back of the knife, and means for forcing said plates toward each other.

21. In a clamp for a heel breasting knife, a back plate, means freely movable on the back plate, engaging the knife and adapted to conform automatically to the shape of the knife, a front plate having a fixed angular relation to the back plate for clamping the knife against the movable means, and means for pressing the plates toward the knife.

In a machine of the class described, a knife holder comprising rotatable abutments having their axes arranged longitudinally of the knife, and means for moving the knife and said abutments relatively for holding the knife by engagement with the abutments.

e In a elarnp for a heel breasting Ina.- In testimony whereof I have signed my 10 chine, ,a back plate, a plurality of members name to this specification in the presence of rotatably seated in the back plate and each two subscribing witnesses. having a plurality of bearing surfaces for a 5 knife, a front plate having ribs thereon ARTHUR BATES.

glispQ fi to engage the knife between the bearing surfaces on the back plate, and YVitnesses: means" for clamping the knife between the KATHERINE PAXToN, plates. ARTHUR ERNEST JERRAM.

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